February 6, 2014

Wedding Ceremony and Reception, Part 3/結婚式と披露宴、パート３

The reception ended at around 15:00. I took a free shuttle bus to Shin Osaka Station with my father and brother and saw them off, who took the 16:17 Shinkansen for Tokyo. I had to kill time in Osaka until the expressway bus arrived at Osaka Station at 22:00. I walked from Shin Osaka Station toward Osaka Station. I spent time in Loft (store that sells household commodities), MARUZEN & JUNKUDO (bookstore), and Hankyu Umeda Main Store (department store), among others.

I decided not to have supper, because I had more than enough at the reception. I went to a Doutor coffee shop and ordered one M size coffee.

披露宴で十分すぎるほど食べたので夕飯は食べないことにしました。ドトールコーヒーに行って、Mサイズのコーヒーを頼みました。

250 yen. When I was in my early 20s, they offered a cup of coffee for 150 yen...
250円でした。20代前半の頃、コーヒー一杯150円だったのですが...。

Doutor Coffee is probably the only major coffee shop chain that roasts their coffee with a direct-flame roasting method. They have developed direct-flame roasters with capacities of 120 kg and 200 kg by themselves.
多分、ドトールコーヒーはコーヒーを直火式で焙煎している唯一の大手コーヒーショップチェーンです。容量120 kg、200 kgの直火式焙煎機を自ら開発しています。

Edited to add a link to the webpage describing the history of Doutor Coffee:
ドトールコーヒーの歴史を説明するページへのリンクを追加：Link/リンク

The expressway bus arrived at Nagaoka at around 6:30 the next day, that is, February 2. I was pretty exhausted because I couldn't sleep well.
高速バスは長岡に翌日、つまり２月２日の6:30頃着きました。よく眠れなかったので、疲れ切っていました。

I had this obento and canned coffee in the waiting room of Nagaoka Station.
長岡駅の待合室で、このお弁当を食べ、缶コーヒーを飲みました。

The obento was good enough,
お弁当は美味しかったですが、

I wasn't particularly fascinated by this canned coffee.
この缶コーヒーには特に感動しませんでした。

I like the cold version of this brand.
このブランドの冷たいバージョンは好きなのですが。

I took a 7:43 train and returned home before 9:00.

7:43発の電車に乗り、9:00前に帰宅しました。

The "hikidemono" (present from the bride and groom to each guest) was:
引き出物は：

cheesecake and a catalog from which you can select one item.
チーズケーキと、一品選べるカタログでした。

I discussed with my family, and selected the barbecue grill set.

家族と相談して、バーベキューグリルのセットを選びました。

Here is the present I bought for my family at the Hankyu department store:

Note: I have no affiliation with Doutor Coffee or Rich Field.
注： 私はドトールコーヒーやRich Fieldと関係はありません。
***
I truly enjoyed my niece's wedding ceremony and reception. I wish the new couple well!
姪の結婚式、披露宴は本当に楽しかったです。お二人の幸福をお祈りします！

10 comments:

No dancing then? Do people dance at Japanese weddings or was it an exception? I have heard only the closest family can see the ceremony, is it true? I mean not friends etc..In France people receive some small sweets in a cute fabric bag as a souvenir. The catalogue choice seems like a huge "thank you" present! On the other hand it depends on the number of people present... If you invite 200 guests, it would be impossible I guess. Thank you for posting these photographs!

No dance... in our country the bride dances with her father and the next dance is with her new husband. Most couples have to take some dancing lessons in advance. Most husbands will dance the waltz only once in their life time (or maybe some times more, depends wether there is a next white wedding or not..)It would be nice if we could get some hikidemono too. We have to bring presents (ordered from a wish list) - afterwards it is common to receive a "Thank you letter" with some pictures of the event. Sometimes you will receive small items - goody bags.Personally I liked watching those Shinto groom and bride processions at the shrines very much - wonderful attires, very dignified.

Kiki: For one thing, social dancing is not part of our culture. When we think of odori (dance), we tend to associate it with such dances as awa odori 阿波踊り and bon odori 盆踊り.

Shinzen-style wedding ceremonies are also popular. According to this survey:http://office-isc-wedding.sblo.jp/category/1139361-1.html(Japanese only)the number of couples selecting the shinzen-style have been on the rise.

Sissi: In Japan, we have what we call a nijikai 二次会, second party. If I remember correctly, the couple held a nijika at 7 p.m. Usually, close friends, colleaques, and others attend such a party. There can also be sanjikai (third party), yojikai (fourth party), and so on.

So it is the white princess-wedding dress, chapel wedding and bunch of flowers throwing only and not the whole bunch of rites. We have another nice event too, maybe interesting for others:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolterabendBest parties ever.. playing pranks is part of it...

Sissi: Well, ask your Japanese friends; they should be willing to talk about their dreams about wedding!

Kiki: Thanks for the link. The custom related to wedding varies from region to region. In one region in Niigata, there is a famous ritual called muko nage (groom throwing) and sumi nuri (ink painting):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwxNmL-eOsI